How Eddy can repair his image

Friday

Nov 8, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Clive McFarlane, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

City Councilor Bill Eddy has been described in some quarters as City Manager Mike O'Brien's floor general. That distinction, however, didn't prevent him from being bounced from his District 5 seat by Gary Rosen.

Mr. Eddy might not yet be in the mood for a full forensic study of his loss, but when he is, he should at least consider this: While he was instrumental in pushing the city manager's agenda, he was often found wanting by some of his constituents. This is a big deal, especially when you are a district councilor and when the voter turnout is low, as it was this year.

So, if Mr. Eddy still harbors aspirations for future political office, he could do himself a huge favor by taking the next two years to reconnect with members of the community that he may have, inadvertently of course, rubbed the wrong way.

The following is a list, and it is far from exhaustive, of things he could do to retool his political career.

Mr. Eddy, as you might recall, orchestrated the bullying of senior citizens on Meadow Lane with fines and legal action to get them to shovel a section of the Pleasant Street sidewalk that was as alien to their property as Mars is to Earth.

Why not try to get back in the good graces of these residents by volunteering to clear their real sidewalks and driveways all winter, for free?

When school proponents asked the city to spend about 3 percent ($9.3 million) above its mandated minimum operational funding for its public schools, Mr. Eddy responded by asking the city manager to outline the damage such an expenditure might wreak on other municipal operations.

He wanted to know, for example, how many police officers would have to be laid off, how many fire and police recruit classes would be lost, how many fire stations and fire companies would close, and how many Department of Public Works and library personnel would lose their jobs, if the city were to boost school funding.

A stint as a Worcester public school long-term substitute teacher might provide Mr. Eddy with the important lesson that funding public schools and other city departments is not an "either or" proposition. He might also find that appreciative teachers, parents and their families provide a more stable and reliable voting bloc.

In one of its most open betrayals of a community, the City Council, after promising not to do so, returned an emergency housing program to its former site at 701 Main St. The city had agreed to temporarily house the program at the former Anna Maria Rest Home, but residents living in that neighborhood protested vociferously. No quarter was given to the residents living around the 701 site. They were forced to take back the program and to live with it for more than a year longer.

Mr. Eddy seemed to suggest at the time that there were two kinds of residents, those he supports and those he didn't.

"The success of Worcester is its strength in maintaining a middle-class base in the city," he said.

"It's easy to say we dumped the shelter on Main South. But there's a historical use there ... I'm not going to apologize for fighting to maintain a middle-class neighborhood."

The emergency housing program has a new and permanent home on Queen Street. I hear they are looking for an assessment specialist. Mr. Eddy should consider the position. It might open his eyes to the plight of some of the most vulnerable in our city.

I know these activities will be a far cry from carrying the city manager's water, but I guarantee they will make him a better council candidate.